| |
|
Search Engine Optimization
Researching the Right Keywords
Keyword analysis is the most basic
step when it comes to optimizing a website for search engines. But
the shocking thing is that, many people do things like search engine
submissions, directory submissions, and use many other optimization
techniques, without actually spending much time on picking up the
right keywords for their website. Keyword analysis is the core of
any search engine optimization campaign, and hence the right keywords
should be carefully chosen, before implementing any other SEO techniques.
This article discusses some techniques that could be effectively
used to pick the right keywords for your website:
Parent Keyword:
First step is to pick the most common keyword which represents your
online business. For e.g. if your website is a forum for discussion
about pets, “pets” would be the parent keyword. It is
also important to note that singular and plural keywords are treated
differently by search engines. Choosing the parent keyword is usually
a simple task, although it can be a bit tricky in case of certain
specific topics, where you should pick the most general keyword.
Once you have defined the parent keyword, the next step is to do
a vertical and lateral keyword analysis.
Vertical Keyword Analysis:
A vertical keyword analysis produces a list of keywords which are
variants and synonyms of the parent keyword. Here you can either
yourself do some guess work and come up with a list, or use a tool,
which is much more preferable. The two most popular tools for vertical
keyword analysis are overture and word tracker. Word tracker has
been the market leader for quite some time, and its worth paying
for its paid version, which is much more powerful than the trial
version available on their website.
Lateral Keyword Analysis:
Lateral keyword analysis basically refers to the process of generating
keywords which are not directly related to the parent keyword, but
relate to the parent keyword in some way. For e.g. in case of pets,
users searching for cat food, dog chains, etc. would also constitute
targeted visitors for that website. Hence through the process of
lateral keyword analysis, it’s possible to compile a list
of keywords, which might help bring in targeted visitors to the
website.
By now you should have a large list of keywords
to work with, and this is the time when you distinguish between
your primary and secondary keywords. The most important thing to
decide is unless you have large resources or vast SEO experience
it is best not to target the most competitive keywords, i.e. keywords
which are searched the most.
If you use the overture or word tracker tool, you
can find out how many times a keyword is searched for, and on the
basis of that you can pick a reasonable keyword, according to your
expectations. A right keyword for one person might not be the right
one for another, as it depends on many other factors, such as the
goals of your website, your short and long term plans etc. It is
also preferable to choose up to 3 to 4 secondary keywords. Once
you have your primary keyword and secondary keywords ready, your
page content should be designed accordingly.
|
|
